


The Silent Wolf

by 46hasu



Series: Of Wolves and Ocarinas [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Some angst, Twilight - centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:27:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26688136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/46hasu/pseuds/46hasu
Summary: On the night of his birthday, Twilight finds something that is right.
Series: Of Wolves and Ocarinas [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1929757
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45





	The Silent Wolf

**Author's Note:**

> This work takes place during Chapter 3 of The Song in the Woods. Please go read that if you would like more context.

Twilight pulled the collar of his new dress shirt. The material wasn’t uncomfortable, in fact, it was the most comfortable shirt he had worn. But it was too nice, too clean, and too much. It felt like it would stain if he as much as looked at it wrong. 

He wanted to go back out again with the goats and Epona. He wanted to sit in the grass with his sketchbook and draw for hours. Alone without anyone hovering over him. 

He sipped the disgusting tea again and couldn’t stop his face from scrunching in disgust. How a tea would help with his voice as his aunt had claimed he didn’t know. But his mother and grandfather seemed to believe it as they had insisted on him drinking the entire thing. 

He tipped the cup further, trying to avoid the tea touching his tongue only to fail. His nose scrunched again but Twilight kept drinking, the sooner this disgusting beverage was gone, the sooner he could drink something better. 

Twilight placed the empty teacup back on the table, making it clear that he drank it all. His mother looked at him before returning her attention back to the sad little cake. She probably knew the tea didn’t help. 

It’s not as if he’s staying silent on purpose. He had tried to talk several times, but his voice seemed to have abandoned him. The doctors and therapists couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. His grandfather tried to carry a conversation with him, only to have that being one-sided. His aunt and mother both had their own attempts to make him talk. Zelda bought in new types of tea while his mother hovered over him, hoping to hear him say something. 

The only one who didn’t make any active attempts to make him talk was Wild. This unfortunately didn’t mean he left him alone. In fact, Wild seemed to find more and more creative ways to annoy Twilight out of ignoring him. It worked half the time. In the other half, Wild seemed to get the hint and leave him alone. 

He wondered how his father would treat his nonverbal behavior. Would he try to have him talk as well or would he just accept it as a fact of life?

The thought of his father sent an old wave of sadness through him. It has been seven years and Twilight still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact his father was gone. He didn’t think everyone else got over it either. 

Well, everyone except for Wild. He didn’t know their father as Twilight had. He didn’t know the stories and the songs his father taught him every night before bed. And Twilight was almost sorry for him. 

Almost. 

A part of Twilight couldn’t help but feel like the world has thrust Wild upon him and dragged his father away in some sort of sick exchange. He might have been eager to have a baby brother but that didn’t mean he was ready to lose anyone so suddenly. Perhaps if Wild never came along, his father would still be here. And his mother wouldn’t have grown so sad. But there was nothing he could do about it now. He had to put up with what he had even if he didn’t like it. 

Wild’s sudden movement beside him shook Twilight our of his thoughts. He blinked, trying to remember what was happening. Their aunt and mother came beside them and smiled at their camera along with their grandfather. Oh right, the birthday picture. Twilight gave the best imitation of a smile as he could, hoping no one would notice dreary thoughts. 

Wild pressed the button on the camera and started to run to his position. 

Twilight would have mercilessly laughed at Wild falling down if he knew his mother wouldn’t scold him later. 

\------------------------------------

Twilight watched his brother snoring on his bed in amazement. It hadn’t even been a minute since he lied down and he was already in a deep sleep. Twilight almost wished he could do the same. 

He gently placed the ocarina beside his bedside table and turned off the lights. He couldn’t remember the last time he played the ocarina. Well, that wasn’t true. It was the night before Wild was born and everything went wrong. It felt wrong to play the instrument anymore with his father gone. 

But Wild had somehow managed to annoy him into playing it. And Twilight did admittedly feel a little guilty for accidentally scratching him. But at least he made up for it now. 

His fingers were too slow and shaky to play any good, but Wild didn’t complain much to his relief. In fact, he didn’t say anything besides a quiet thank you before climbing back to bed. If only he was as easy to sway in other situations. 

Twilight looked out to his window, staring at the moonlight filtering into the room and yawned. He must be more tired than he thought he was because he could swear the moonlight was dancing around him in tiny circular lights. 

He watched the lights dance around his bed and reached an arm for one. He blinked once, trying to clear his vision. The lights remained. He blinked again, but the lights were still there. 

He sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. More circular lights flew in from the window, trailing out the bedroom door. He turned to Wild, debating on waking him up. But he decided against it as he got up from his bed and followed the lights. 

The hallway was dark as he expected with nothing but the trail of lights illuminating his path. As far as Twilight knew, everyone else in the house was asleep. His mother was the first one to turn in after cleaning the kitchen. Aunt Zelda and his grandfather traveled a long way to get to the ranch and joked about their sleepiness. Wild was still snoring in their shared bedroom. 

Twilight tiptoed after the trail of lights, careful to avoid the creaking floorboards. The lights slowly entered his mother’s bedroom, through the door cracks. He slowly opened the door, mindful of its squealing hinges. 

He heard Malon softly snore on her bed as the lights floated over her vanity table. He snuck into the room after the lights and found them illuminating the framed photo of his parents on their wedding day. He picked up the photo and studied it. 

His mother looked more radiant and happier than she did now. She smiled widely at the camera with one arm wrapped around his father’s. His father was looking at the camera with a shy smile, looking nervous but equally overjoyed. His blond hair was neatly combed away from his face, revealing his scar over one eye. Twilight’s throat closed as he continued to look at the photo. 

The lights stubbornly remained on the vanity table as Twilight finally set the picture down. But before the picture could make contact with the table, he noticed something small and metallic reflecting the lights back to him. He picked up the object to find it was a small key. He wouldn’t have noticed it if he hadn’t removed the picture out of the way. 

With the key in his hand, the light started to fly away from the vanity table and into his mother’s open walk-in closet. 

He shouldn’t be snooping around his mother’s room. He should put the key back behind the picture frame and go back to bed. But something about the lights was alluring. He wanted to know where it was leading him. 

Twilight walked into the closet as quietly as he could as Malon continued to sleep. He followed the lights deeper into the closet until he reached a stacked pile of rain and snow coats. He dropped down to his knees and gently removed the coats from the wooden chest it was stacked on. The lights surrounded the chest, illuminating a metallic key hole. 

Before he could think about it, he inserted the key to the chest and turned the key. The chest opened with a loud click. Twilight froze at the unexpected sound, fearfully looking back to where his mother lay. But there was no sound of disturbance. 

He opened the chest further as the lights flew in. A dark fur coat sat inside the chest and Twilight immediately felt a pull towards it. He reached out one hand felt the soft texture of the coat. It was surprisingly softer than it looked. He pulled it out of the chest to get a better look. 

Something about this coat felt right. Like it was made for him and has been waiting in the chest the moment he was born. He had to try it on. 

He exited the room as quietly as he could, running down the stairs to the kitchen. He undid the locks on the door and stepped out to the cool night air. Epona stood where the brothers left her earlier today. She approached the fence at the sight of Twilight and he immediately ran up to her. He held up the coat for her to see. She only sniffed at the coat before turning away to him. 

Twilight gave her nose a soft pat before pulling the coat over his body. A sudden burst of energy came to him the moment the coat made contact with his shoulders. He buttoned it all the way up, his hands starting to shake with excitement. Finally, he threw the hood on and felt himself change. 

He sank down to the ground, his limbs twisted, and his senses heightened. He heard the soft snores inside his home and he could smell the fertilizer at the other side of the ranch. Epona looked down at him, her tail swaying back and forth. Twilight looked down his hands only to find paws.

He lifted the right one up and lowered it down to the ground. He twisted his head back to find the fur coat covering his entire back and legs. A dark tail swung behind him and without meaning to, he started to chase after it. He spun for a while before finally stopping. Epona watched him with a bemused attitude. 

He was a wolf. 

Twilight attempted to maneuver around the ranch, trying to make use of his new limbs. He occasionally stumbled from here to there. Before long, he was able to run around the ranch properly without any missteps. His heart started to hammer as he leaped over the fences. 

He felt so  _ free _ . 

The farm animals merely ignored him as he continued to prowl and run around the fields. He eventually came at the fence bordering the ranch from the Woods. And he felt a pull. 

Something in the Woods was calling him. 

He leaped over the fence and entered the Woods without hesitation. 

He leaped over the stones and bushes. He twisted through the trees with grace. 

Running through the Woods felt as if he finally remembered a word he was searching for. As if he finally found the missing puzzle piece. As if the drawing was finally finished. 

It felt right. 

He turned to the moon and howled. It echoed through the trees and was carried out further than he could ever imagine. 

**Author's Note:**

> More works are coming soon for this series!


End file.
